All That Seems Random # 18 | Freckles and Time

Wow, it's Friday again which means it's time for All That Seems Random, where we share how aware (or not) we are of the events, people and opportunities the universe has presented to us based on our focus and desires. Because we need to CELEBRATE them.

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

Last week saw me asking for a way to track my time commitment to various tasks. I had only two requirements. One - I can set it up quick, easy and simple. No learning curve, no downloads, no configuration. Two - It needed to be free, since my new tools budget is showing cobwebs. There was a third but it wasn't a requirement exactly. I just didn't want to spend any time looking for it.

So with all that in mind, I wrote down my starting time on a piece of recycled paper and got to work.

As I was working I ran into a question of how to integrate two seemingly disjointed ideas. A thought occurred to me about doing something I'd been putting off doing, which might actually provide help on the integration issue.

So I merrily stopped what I was doing. Thought for a few minutes about where exactly the link I needed was. Remembered. Skipped over to my twitter favorites (just one of the many reasons to have a twitter account). Found the link. Clicked it and only then did I recall the need to write down my stopping time on my paper tracking time system. Oops.

Oh well, just a few minutes.

Then I noticed, after spending an inordinate amount of time with Kelly Parkinson on her blog, doing what I had been avoided because ewww talking about myself in third person. After doing the exercise, I did have a better understanding of what the integration issue was really about.

And I found Let's Freckle.

Thank you Kelly Parkinson.
 
Hmm random notes found on my desk this week include but are not limited to the following:

• If you're depending on someone else to define your life for you, it's going to fit their definition and you many not like it.
• You control the experience.
• Practice for one minute everyday, opening your heart completely and totally. Love has no conditions. Practice makes love grow stronger.
• Do you remember what imagining life would be like as a grown-up, when you were a child?

That's it for me, what random events, people and opportunities are showing up in your life, that aren't really random at all?

26 minutes to edit this post. A total of 77 minutes to bring all the random bits together. I'm really diggin' Let's Freckle (weird name, cool time tracking concept).

--
LaShae

THRiViNG! Life Maps

Here I've been wracking my brain about how to present what I'm working on. I'm supposed to use all the marketing knowledge I've gleaned. I'm supposed to push your emotional buttons. I'm supposed to state the problem and hint at the solution, so you'll be primed to take action.

I probably will on the official page for the THRiViNG! Life Maps E-course, but here on my itybites blog, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to tell you my story and how I came to create the THRiViNG! Life Maps E-course.

I've always mostly sort of done what I was supposed to do. I got a job early. I saved my money. I tried not to go into too much debt. The people around me, parents, aunts & uncles, bosses, co-workers and friends, were happy with me. I didn't cause them much grief and I typically didn't ask for much.

The kicker is, I didn't like myself. In fact, I hated myself, yet I convinced myself that as long as they all liked me, I could deal with my self hate. Which meant I had to always look the part and they could never know my truth.

After years of living this way, everything finally caught up to me. I started reading Think And Grow Rich, by Napolean Hill. Then, I tried to read Psycho-Cybernetics, by Maxwell Maltz only to realize I wasn't really ready to be that honest, with myself yet.

After that I found The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz. And I read author after author, including, Wayne Dyer, Guy Finley, Bill Harris, Don Miguel Ruiz, Mark Joyner, Jose Silva and so many others that I don't recall now.

Yet I never took any action. I never made the connection that my happiness depended on me taking actions that fit for me, not my parents, my friends or anyone else.

There were still issues to deal with, many of them still sensitive and raw. It wasn't until I made this connection and began facing my issues that I could begin seeing my happy life, the one for me.

It was also then I realized the extent of the phenomena I'm terming right now "Happiness Codependency".

Happiness Codependency is a belief, backed by actions, creating a false 'proof' that others have control over our happiness. And the need for others to maintain that control, keeps you away from any real and authentic happiness.

So I devised a plan, with the help of Barbara Sher's book "WishCraft" and lots of trial and error to find the things that truly make me happy. How I want to live my life, the values I want to be an example of, the things I want to do, the places I want to go.

I put together THRiViNG! Life Maps: 100 Simple Steps. I've been following them for almost a year. I'm happier now, even in the midst of uncertain circumstances in which I find myself.

I'd like to offer you the same steps for the cost of your personal email address and first name.

I thought about putting them on the blog and the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. I want you to get involved, ask questions, share what you find and too many people are uncomfortable doing that in such a public arena.

Just fill out the form below to get started. End your happiness codependency, it's in the best interest of everyone involved, especially YOU!



Here's how this will work. You sign up up there in that box. For the next 8 days, you'll get a short email from me which asks you to take a 15 minute action. After the 8 days, you'll make your decision. You'll be able to email me with questions or just email what you come up with for each of your days. No one but you and I will see this information.

I don't want to be your voice of reason. I want to be the voice that helps you figure out your map, so you too can begin the journey again to your THRiViNG! Life. Because we all started on this journey when we were small. We learned to walk because we wanted to. We learned to talk because we had so much to say. We learned to do all these things out of curiosity.

We asked 10,000 questions with every breath.

Then we stopped or something stopped us. We got side-tracked and led astray. We started to believe what wasn't real for us. We were trained to hide the spark. Yet it still burns in you. You want to fan the flame and you know some things are going to burn away. You're ready for that. Or you're not quite ready and you want to start anyway.

So let's get started. And I'll see you in your inbox.

Carrots are bad for you and so are sticks

If you're not able to see the embedded video click here.